Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Saint John's basketball secured the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs with an 81-52 win at Bethel on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Robertson Center.

The Johnnies (16-9, 13-7 MIAC) will host an opponent, to be determined, in the MIAC semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, in Sexton Arena.

Down by one (18-17) with 13:12 left in the first half, SJU broke the game open with an impressive 27-4 run over a 10-minute span to double up the Royals, 44-22. The visitors went 11-for-16 from the field, including 5-for-6 from three-point range, during the long scoring run.

SJU shot 62.1 percent (18-for-29) from the floor, with an 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) showing from behind the arc, to take a 45-26 lead into halftime. The percentages cooled off after the break, finishing at 51.6 percent (32-for-62) overall and 45 percent (9-for-20) from long range, though the closest BU (9-16, 7-13 MIAC) came to SJU was 16 points the rest of the way.

Sophomore guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) led all scorers with 23 points, his second 20-point game of the season and fifth of his career. He scored eight of SJU's first 10 points and finished 7-for-8 from the field, including 6-for-7 from three-point, for 20 points in the first half alone. He also added four rebounds and three assists.

Junior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) totaled 13 points, four rebounds and three assists, while senior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) added 11 points and four boards in 17 minutes of play.

Tommy Jensen led BU, which finished at 35.6 percent (21-for-59) overall and 30 percent (6-for-20) from downtown, with 16 points on 5-for-14 shooting.

SJU committed a season-low three turnovers on the afternoon and scored 16 points off BU's 13 miscues.